Landmark Restaurant Closes

EAST HADDAM — The landmark Gelston House inn and restaurant has closed and its owners hope to re-open in the spring with a new operator, Goodspeed Musicals' officials said Friday.

The restaurant, and inn featuring four rooms, is next to the Goodspeed Opera House and Connecticut River.

Gelston House is a vital cog in village commerce. Many Goodspeed patrons and employees have meals and socialize there.

Goodspeed, which owns the property, leased it the past eight years to Carl Carbone Jr.

A recorded message on the Gelston House phone said doors were shut effective Sept. 24, and extended thanks for eight years of patronage. Those with gift certificates and deposits paid to the Gelston House were directed to e-mail Gelstonoffice@aol.com.

Goodspeed spokesman Dan McMahon said the decision to temporarily close the Gelston House had been in discussion for months, as Carbone's lease was about to expire.

McMahon said Carbone wanted to focus on opening another restaurant in the Hartford area. He refused to divulge whether the split was amicable.

Carbone could not be reached for comment.

``We mutually agreed not to extend the lease. He had been there eight years,'' McMahon said. ``We are now in the midst of searching for a new restaurateur. We hope to have it open in time for next season.''

McMahon said Goodspeed will take time to find the ``best possible'' operator of the Gelston House, even though revenue is being lost while it is closed.

``We are always concerned about the quality,'' he said. ``We are not rushing into it.''

The closing of the Gelston House, though likely temporary, is another setback for village merchants and economic development efforts.

Earlier this week, Goodspeed officials said plans to build a 700-seat satellite theater on the former Williams Chevrolet site have been postponed, due to a sagging fundraising climate.

The Gelston House, originally known as ``The River Side Inn,'' was built in 1736 by Jabez Chapman. In 1776, a man known as Mr. Gelston purchased the building and it was family managed until 1825.

The building was sold to Joseph Goodspeed in 1825. It was again sold in 1853 to a group of East Haddam residents who formed the Gelston Hotel Co., headed by George Gelston.